‘Hello Dere’ an entertaining time trip

Marty Allen makes a joke about Hugh Hefner being 80 and still having "a different girl coming to his room every night. Only now they're called nurses."

Allen is 85, four years older than Hefner (who is now 81). The comedian still goes onstage every night to deliver bug-eyed one-liners from another era of show business. Only now his stage partner is not Steve Rossi but Karon Kate Blackwell his singing wife of 23 years.

It's undeniable that part of the appeal of "Hello Dere," the duo's current showcase at the Gold Coast, lies in rooting for these sentimental favorites. They are themselves longtime locals, performing to as many suburban retirees as tourists since 1990, when the couple moved here to play the bygone Vegas World.

It's a relief to say Allen doesn't make you hold your breath for him. The eyes don't quite bulge like they used to and occasionally, his gravelly delivery will test the capacity of the hearing aids in the audience.

But he doesn't look a day over 75 when he's dancing in high heels and a dress, vamping with Blackwell to "Hey Big Spender." Beats a senior fitness class, huh?

Some may find it odd that any mention of Rossi -- the other half of the '60s-era comedy team Allen & Rossi -- has been purged with an efficiency that would make the "1984" Ministry of Truth jealous. The montage of film clips that's de rigueur for most old-timer shows is missing; no Ed Sullivan show the same night as the Beatles, no "Last of the Secret Agents" movie during the spy-mania of 1966.

My guess is that the couple fear it would distract from their own likeable chemistry, the fact that he only stands as tall as her chin and often comes off like a bad little boy being interrogated by the schoolteacher.

The two repackage two Allen & Rossi routines, with Allen as ventriloquist dummy and blotto-faced "wine taster." He also steps out for some traditional stand-up, updating the act with references to global warming, Peyton Manning, Rosie O'Donnell, "American Idol" and "Deal or No Deal."

But mostly, it's up to Allen's vintage mugging and continued likability to sell a barrage of vintage one-liners:

"How do prepare your chicken?"

"We tell 'em straight out, 'You're gonna die.' "

Or, "I got in a taxi and said, 'Take me to where the action is.' He drove me to my house!"

Beyond our proprietary feelings toward the couple, their show is a good fit for the cozy Gold Coast room recently occupied by "Forever Plaid." The combined package is a taste of cruise ship entertainment that's hard to find on the Strip, with Blackwell's Beatles and Stevie Wonder medleys spelling the comedy.

Blackwell spices up her likeable singing by occasionally sitting down at the piano to knock out a few rockabilly licks with the four-piece band. And she informs the crowd that Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." has been elevated beyond requisite casino standard to the status of "a prayer."

By the time she sings her own composition "Wedding Vows" to Allen at the piano, it would take a hard, cold heart to regret signing up for this time trip. But most people taking this voyage are sold before they walk in.